After a cold end of week, it got into the mid-40s this weekend. Most of the snow has melted, but not to worry, there is snow in tomorrow’s overnight forecast. These plants will not care.
What could off-and-on snow cover mean in February? Snowdrops. It took years for them to really take hold in this little downtown yard, but the squirrels were really helpful. They rearranged the bulbs endlessly, resulting in some lovely swaths of snowdrops. They are just beginning to bloom.
The snowdrops were not this far along on March 6 last year.
Last fall, I mixed some small daffodils in with the crocuses by the back door, in the fond hope that the rabbits will not eat the crocus flowers down to the leaves. So far, so good, but it’s really too early to tell how desperate they will get. For now, they are eating the blue fescue instead.
The daylilies have also broken ground. Their buds are very distinctive.
Nearby, in the kitchen garden the parsley and chervil are looking a little more robust than they did at the end of December.
The only Swiss chard that didn’t get eaten last year was in the same bed as this plant—I think it was the somewhat prickly, hirsute borage that put the rabbits off—I am hoping the borage protection will extend to the parsley. The borage won’t be up for a while yet, however. Fingers crossed.
The chervil is peeking through in many spots. It is such a wispy little thing that I pick out the badly placed plants when I want to add them to a salad.
Honestly, it was a short, mild winter, but I am still relieved to see signs of spring. It was a dark, damp winter, which is just unpleasant.